Steble fountain urchins

[Kev]

Oct 29 2008 by Liza Williams, Liverpool Daily Post

Liverpool?s 21st century ?street urchins? recreate famous Victorian photograph

VICTORIAN photographs illus-trating the lives of children in 1900 and 1890 have been recreated by Liverpool pupils.

The children from Mab Lane Primary and Holly Lodge Girls School dressed in contemporary costume to recreate a famous shot of street urchins taken at the Steble fountain at the top of William Brown Street in 1890, and also a scene outside the Food and Betterment Association rooms on Lime Kiln Lane, in 1900.

They are taking part in a drama, literacy and history project entitled Moving Statues.

After posing to recreate the picture, the children came alive to tell a story about what life was like for people more than 100 years ago, interacting with any-body who passed at the time.

The aim is to teach the child-ren about the development of language, social class, housing, architecture and culture.

Yesterday, Mab Lane Primary teacher Nicky Ware said: ?The children are loving it and it fits in with a project we have done on the Victorians and helps them identify with the people living during those times. They each have a character which helps to bring it all to life and gets them involved in history.?

The project is being run by the city council?s libraries service in partnership with the West Derby Learning Network and the school improvement team.

The pupils also toured the cultural quarter to learn more about Victorian buildings.

Cllr Keith Turner, executive member for education, said: ?It is a brilliant way of bringing his-tory alive for children.?

lizawilliams

[Ged]

This sounds good. I'd like to see those comparison pictures.

[PhilipG]

Weren't they all nude in the original photo?

[Ged]

No, that was the Burlington street 'scaldies' at the canal. On the original photo, the black lad went on to become a world renowned musician with an orchestra or something.